The First and the Last
by Sweet Honey-sempai
Summary: Non-traditional A/B/O. Castiel Shurley has dedicated his life to fighting the Romans, an all-Alpha pack that traffics Beta and Omega children while posing as adoption agency. After he and his latest rescue, Kevin Tran, stumble into the Roadhouse, Bobby and Ellen, along with daughter Jo and adopted children Dean, Sam, and Charlie, ally themselves with him, for very personal reasons.
1. Nightmares

Sam woke up when Charlie opened the door, allowing the dim light of the hallway to spill into the bedroom and land on the side of his face, tapping at the corner of his eye.

"Um…Sam?"

"What's wrong?" Sam lifted his head a little, peering over the mass of blonde hair tucked under his chin.

"I had a nightmare."

Of course. Why else would she come crawling into their room at ass o'clock, looking shrunken and cold, half folded in on herself?

"I've got Jess here," Sam said. Strictly speaking Jess should have been in her own house, but Dean allowed her to spend the night with Sam on the condition that she didn't snore. "Bed's not big enough…Dean?" He knew his brother would be awake, and Dean didn't prove him wrong. He slept a lot lighter than Sam, and he'd heard Charlie's footsteps in the hallway and smelled her when she got to the door. At the sound of his name he cracked an eye open.

"I can sleep on the floor," Charlie offered sheepishly. "I just didn't want to be alone…"

"Charlene Carrie Harvelle, shut your mouth and get your ass in this bed right now," Dean said, pressing his face into his pillow.

"Oh my," Charlie said, with a weak grin. "I didn't know you thought about me that way, Dean. You know I can't return those feelings—"

"I swear to _God_, Charlie."

She managed to giggle as she closed the door, padded across the floor, and climbed onto the mattress from the foot of the bed, but her mood shifted back into moroseness after she cuddled up to Dean's back, hands clinging to his shoulders, face pressed between his shoulder blades. He reached up, patting one of her hands before squeezing it; she thanked him by pressing herself a little closer.

"I think it's 'cause of my heat."

"Huh?"

"This happened last month too," Charlie mumbled into his back.

"You should be trying to sleep."

"It was really vivid both times. More than usual."

"Shh."

"But—"

"Charlie. Shush." He turned his head, catching more of a glimpse of her hair than her face, but he could nonetheless tell that her eyes were bright with moisture. "You can talk about it at a decent hour but right now, talking's only gonna get you worked up. Sleep it off, and you can deal with it in the morning."

Charlie bit her lip, burrowing her face into his spine.

Sam caught Dean's eye just before he laid his head back down, and he clung to Jess a little tighter.

Dean didn't sleep any more that night.

* * *

><p>"Do not be frightened."<p>

Easy for him to say. He was a tall, imposing, gruff-voiced man with a piercing ice-blue stare and the musk of an Alpha emanating off him; Kevin was a skinny kid of 13 with a gag tied around his face and a scent that marked him as an adolescent Omega. Of course Kevin was frightened, and the stench of urine soaking his blue jeans made that fact obvious.

"I will not hurt you. But you must stay quiet and do as I say for little while."

Kevin nodded. What else was there to do? The stranger smiled at him—awkwardly, but genuinely—and motioned for Kevin to turn slightly. This enabled him to crouch behind the boy and begin working at the square knot that kept him tethered to a pipe in the old barn that he'd been dragged into a few days ago. Kevin heard a low growl of frustration and then the _shink_ of a sharp edge rubbing lighting against fabric; the rope instantly fell apart a few seconds later.

As soon as his hands were free, Kevin clawed at his gag, contorting his face to pull it off over his head. He barely had time to pant out the adrenaline rush of freeing his mouth before the man took him by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

"Stay still for a moment."

The man slipped the knife he had cut Kevin loose with into the pocket of his trenchcoat, extricating an aerosol can in its place. Kevin watched him with apprehensive eyes as he raised the can above Kevin's head, showering him with its contents, and then did the same with himself. Kevin realized, watching the stranger circle the room with the can and suddenly realizing that he could no longer smell him, that he was spraying a scent suppressor.

"In my wolf form, I'm large enough to carry you on my back," the man said, coming to face Kevin again. "I want you to hang onto this." He held out the can; Kevin took it from him, staring at it dazedly. "Spray it behind us as we're leaving. We can't be too cautious. You understand?"

"Yeah," Kevin breathed out, nodding with jerky motions. "I—yeah, I understand."

"Good. I'll leave first."

When Kevin looked up, the man had already transformed. He was right; as a wolf he was gigantic and powerfully built, twice the size of a normal wolf, with a dark enough coat to melt into nighttime and deep foliage. This was why Alphas were scary: Kevin's own wolf form, the size of a semi-large dog, seemed like a fetus in comparison.

Kevin watched, dumbfounded, as the wolf crossed the room, flexing his spine to slink under the hole that he had dug to get into the barn in the first place.

This wasn't real. He was not really getting rescued by Mister Top Dog here.

The wolf outside pawed impatiently at the ground. It seemed to take Kevin a long time to finally crawl his way outside. The escape was graceless for a gangly human form, and Kevin emerged with dirt stuck to his clothes and back and at the corners of his very raw mouth, but he at least had the savvy to immediately cover the hole with the scent suppressor, one long spray followed by a few extra spritzes for good measure.

The wolf crouched low; Kevin fumbled his way onto his back like one might get on a horse for the first time. The wolf's fur was a strange mix of bristly and soft, and Kevin found himself clinging tightly to it, to the tentative promise of safety that the man was offering him. In one hand he clutched the aerosol can, and after angling it so that it faced backwards, he spritzed it once, as a starting signal.

The wolf took off.

* * *

><p>"My, look at all the bloodshot eyes at the table this morning," Ellen commented mildly at breakfast.<p>

Indeed Dean, Sam, and Charlie all bore the signs of interrupted sleep: Charlie was staring wide-eyed at her plate, Sam had his elbow propped on the table and his face buried in his hand (he had just dozed off when Jess woke him up again to say good-bye as she headed back to her own house, and the sudden coldness that her absence left in his bed made him too chilled to catch whatever sleep was left to him), and Dean was more interested in playing with his cup than drinking his coffee.

"You didn't go for your run this morning, Sam," she continued, sliding bacon from a pan onto his plate.

"Jess probably kept him up all night," Jo giggle-muttered into her forkful of sausage.

"That true?" Sam's glare, aimed at Jo, gave Ellen all the confirmation she needed, and she tapped the spatula against the pan to get off the excess grease before rapping it against Sam's head.

"Ow!"

"That's for having Jess sleep over without my say-so." She took two steps around the table, to where Dean sat beside Jo, and struck the back of his skull, as well.

"Hey! The hell was that for?"

"Letting him."

Jo, who had begun preening smugly for putting one over on her foster brothers, recoiled instantly when the spatula fell upon her own blonde head.

"And _that's_ for being a tattletale." Ellen returned to the stove, setting the empty pan on the range. "Now if Jess was the reason you two boys didn't sleep, then Charlie would look better'n she does, so I know it wasn't her. So what gives, guys?"

"I had a dream," Charlie said plainly, still looking blankly at her plate. "So I went to Sam and Dean's room."

"Aw shoot, Charlie." Ellen immediately went to her foster daughter, wrapping her arms around Charlie's shoulders and laying her cheek on Charlie's hair. "You wanna tell me about it?"

"If this is gonna be a moment better served by a shrink's couch, then I'm gonna eat outside," Dean said, pushing his chair back and grabbing his plate and cup. Ellen glared at him for his bluntness, but didn't rebuke him.

"I'll head out too," Sam said, rising with much more grace as Dean walked out the door. "You coming, Jo?"

"No, I'm gonna stay here," Jo said, picking herself up to take another seat closer to Charlie. Sam nodded with a wan look on his face-it was understandable that Jo would want to be there to support Charlie, considering her own past-and left the room, stopping Ash and Bobby before they also wandered into the kitchen looking for food.

Sam decided to take his meal out onto the front porch and join Dean on the porch swing, where they had a perfect view of the back of the Roadhouse, Ellen's restaurant. Dean was tearing into his breakfast with a vigor that surpassed his usual morning hunger. Sam sat down next to him, silently watching Dean wolf down his sausage, spluttering a bit as he tried to swallow before he was done chewing. After several minutes of harsh eating he roughly set the dishes on the porch floor, making the silverware rattle against the plate, and began gulping down his coffee.

"Dean—"

His brother responded by throwing his unfinished cup onto the front lawn; luckily it was a plastic travel mug and did not break upon impact with the frozen November ground.

"We saved her, Dean," Sam said calmly, soothingly. "They can't hurt her anymore."

"Like _fuck_. They can when she can't even get some God damn _sleep_." Dean turned his head to glare at Sam, but had to soften his features when he ascertained that Sam had spoken to reassure himself as much as Dean. He ran his hand harshly up his face, trying to rub some wakefulness and a better mood into his brain by doing so. "Look, Sammy, I know we did good by Charlie. But that don't mean it doesn't make me mad as hell still."

"You have the right to be," Sam said evenly. "I'm still angry, too. I'm angry all the time for what happened to her, and to Jo, and to Jess. Hell, for what people've tried to do to _you_. But, for their sake, _and yours_, I try to resist the urge to act like a big douche when I'm pissed off about it."

Dean snorted, simultaneously a dismissal of Sam's admonishment, and an apology for behaving immaturely. Sam didn't reply, but leaned back against the swing, sipping his drink and watching the wind shake the bare trees.

"I hate being so fucking useless, Sammy," Dean said, after a long spell of silence.

Sam swallowed the last of his drink before throwing his own cup out onto the lawn. Unlike Dean's, it was glass, and it shattered when it ran aground.

"Me too."


	2. Safe House

"It's their last night as unmated wolves, and they're spending it in each other's laps," Ash complained good-naturedly, popping the cap off a bottle of beer and sliding it a few inches down the bar, to where Dean was waiting to catch it.

"I know, it's gross, isn't it?" Dean replied. Mildly chagrined (and insanely jealous) as their casual intimacy made him, there was something disgustingly heartwarming about the way Jess sat perpendicular to Sam in the booth, her legs slung over his lap; about the way Sam, even when engrossed in conversation with someone else, absently-yet-determinedly ran his palm around her knee cap, down her calf, about her ankle, finally cupping her foot to gently massage her toes.

It was especially touching considering how Jess, after the fire, never took off her shoes where other people could see her feet—one foot had made it out okay; the other looked as though she had left it sitting on the range. If the old adage that Alphas led, Betas helped, and Omegas served was to be given credence, Jess submitted totally to Sam's need to succor her. How friggin' perfect they were for each other made Dean want to adopt a kitten and punch one at the same time.

"Most disgusting thing I ever saw," a voice said from behind him, and Dean whirled around, the momentarily startled expression on his face melting into a grin.

"Benny! Dude, didn't know you were showing up tonight." Dean stuck out his hand; Benny took it and pulled them into a one-armed hug. Sam hadn't initially liked Benny…rather, he'd been suspicious of Benny, but had warmed up to him once it became clear that he wasn't a threat to Dean.

"Thought I'd drop by to wish the happy couple my best, and see if the best man wanted some company."

"Anything for a drink and a lay, huh?" Dean laughed.

"Ah-ah-ah, false. Okay, half-false. I would gladly take a drink. Andrea might not be happy if I got laid, though." Benny slid onto a barstool, slapping down a few dollar bills and sliding them towards Ash. "Here. Make this a weddin' gift or keep it for a tip, whatever you want. Give me whatever's closest to you." He looked back at Dean with a half-wistful smirk. "Love that woman, but she can be no fun."

"And here I thought you met her during an orgy or something."

"_Our_ former relationship is not indicative of _all_ my social engagements."

Dean laughed, but cut himself off too prematurely to smoothly transition into his question. "Speaking of our former relationship…"

"They're not showing tonight."

"...Oh." Dean tried not to let his disappointment show too obviously.

"Ben's sick, didn't she tell you?"

"No." Dean's eyes narrowed, replacing the crestfallen look. "What kind of "sick"?"

"Nothing huge. He just came down with something this morning. Lisa said on the phone that she thinks it'll clear up by the wedding tomorrow, but she wants him to rest tonight."

"Oh. Well, that's good." Dean smiled, a little weakly. "S'long as it's not, you know, big."

"Just a bug. I'm surprised she didn't mention it to you."

"Well. _You're_ the kid's dad, not me. So. Whatever." Dean raised his bottle, pressed it to his lips, and tilted his head back.

He nearly sprayed all over Benny as the door to the Roadhouse swung open and a wolf, with a child clinging to its back, stumbled inside.

From her position in the back of the restaurant Ellen shot forward first. Bobby and Jo were next, as her mate and "official" heir, and then Jody Mills, as a police officer. But it was Dean who made it to the door first, by simple virtue of being seated closest to it, and he snatched the child up, stepping them both back as Ellen, already taking wolf form, lunged forward, grabbed the stranger by the neck with her teeth, and pinned him to the floor. The stranger whimpered, doing his best to tuck his tail between his legs-one of which was held at an odd angle-and turn onto his back, to show his belly, without breaking his neck under the pressure of her jaws.

"He's good!" the boy beside Dean yelped, trying to go forward but stayed by Dean's grip on his arm. "He helped me escape, he's a good guy…"

"Escape what?" Jo demanded, poised to take her own wolf form; the rest of the party was crowding around behind her, confused and fearful murmurs rippling through them.

"I don't know, they kidnapped me, I don't know who took me!" Kevin said, his voice raising in pitch. "But he's the one who busted me out! He's not dangerous! I promise!"

"Ellen, let him transform," Jody said, in her lowest, calmest, _I-mean-business_ voice. "He can't speak to us as a wolf."

Ellen glared down at the stranger who had dared to trespass onto her property and enter the Roadhouse without permission. He had ceased struggling altogether and now lay still, except for the rise and fall of his chest; high-pitched, placating whines escaped his throat as he tried to even out his breathing.

"He's outnumbered if he tries anything, Ellen."

Ellen hesitated, then pinched the stranger's neck with her mouth as a warning, and let him go.

Instantly the wolf transformed into a human, a black-haired man who turned his piercing blue eyes to Kevin, to check on him, the beauty and intensity of which took Dean aback when their gazes accidentally met.

"I apologize for barging in like this," the man said, taking his eyes away from Kevin and Dean to look around at the entire party. "I was hurt." He gestured down to one of his legs; his ankle lay on the floor at an awkward angle. "I smelled a large number of Betas and Omegas here, so I figured it was safe."

"Well that depends," Bobby said, stepping forward to hold out his hand, to help Ellen up; she had transformed back into a human as the stranger spoke. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Castiel Shurley."

"Aw, shit," Ellen said, straightening herself out as soon as she was on her feet. "Great. If I die and it looks like a mob hit, we'll know who killed me."

"I assure you, I will not be informing my family that my neck was almost snapped in half tonight."

"Castiel Shurley, my name is Officer Jody Mills," Jody stepped in matter-of-factly; her badge was in her hand and flashed within seconds. "And you are?" she continued, looking at the boy Castiel had carried in.

"I'm Kevin Tran. I'm in Advanced Placement," he added, feeling the inane urge to babble.

"And you say you were kidnapped?" Kevin nodded. "But Mr. Shurley helped you escape?"

"Yeah."

"And where are you from?"

"Michigan. Neighbor, Michigan."

Jody drew out the walkie-talkie that she always carried on her-_"Three things I always am: a wife, a mother, and a cop"_-and clicked it on, setting it to the correct frequency before raising it to her mouth. "Kathleen, this is Jody, I need a confirmation on a name."

There was a pause, and then radio static, before Jody's coworker spoke. "What can I do for you, Jody?"

"Was there a "Kevin Tran" reported missing? Adolescent…" she sniffed the air, "Omega male, 12 or 13 years old, East Asian descent, comes from Michigan."

"Lemme see..." Dimly they heard the sound of papers rustling and a keyboard being used, before Kathleen spoke again. "That's an affirmative, Jody. A boy matching your description was reported missing by his mother six months ago. Why?"

"'Cause he just walked into the Roadhouse. I'm going back on duty for the next few hours or so. Punch me in if you please, because I'd like to get paid for this."

"Sure. I'll be right over to help."

"Bring an ambulance. There're no visible injuries, but we should get him checked out."

"Got it."

"Thanks." Jody turned off her device, turning her attention back to Kevin. "D'you know your mom's phone number offhand, kiddo?"

Kevin immediately rattled off ten digits.

"Good, 'cause we need to give her a call and let her know you've been found."

"You can use the phone in the kitchen, Jody," Ellen said.

"Thanks, Ellen. Mr. Shurley, I'm gonna ask you to stay here in the restaurant; I'm gonna need your statement when I'm done."

Castiel nodded in a way that suggested that he'd heard those words before, and Jody held out her arm towards Kevin, finally replacing her businesslike expression with a maternal smile. Kevin hesitated, but after a moment convinced his feet to walk to her. As Kevin left Dean's side, Dean stepped forward, offering his hand to Castiel.

"Here, you can get off the floor now."

Castiel took Dean's arm—his grip was strong, Dean noted—and hauled himself to his feet. He stumbled a little when he forgot his injury; Dean braced himself to carry Castiel's weight, but found himself aided by Sam, who went forward to help support Castiel on his other side. The crowd of partygoers backed up, allowing Jody to lead Kevin into the kitchen, and Dean and Sam to assist Castiel onto a barstool.

"Thank you," Castiel said in Dean's direction, once he was settled, and he looked out again, taking in the decorations that covered the room. "It appears I interrupted a celebration."

"Yeah. My brother Sam," Dean pointed to Sam, who had stepped back, but stayed within hearing distance, "and his fiancée Jess," she was now at Sam's side, just slightly behind him, "they're getting married tomorrow."

"Congratulations," Castiel said, in the betrothed couple's direction.

"Thank you," they replied, in tandem, a little dazedly.

"So…yeah, you apparently rescued a kid, awesome, have a beer," Sam continued, after a beat of silence.

"On the house," Ash added; he had taken his place behind the bar once more, and now he set a bottle down next to Castiel's arm. "You deserve one, dude. Looks like you need one, too."

"So what the hell happened?" Jo asked, hopping up onto the barstool on one side of Castiel; Dean quickly took the one on the other side before someone else could.

"Am I being interrogated?" Castiel asked.

"Not yet, the cop's gone," Ellen said, coming to stand next to where her daughter sat. "We're just interested to know what circumstances caused you to barge into my establishment with a kid on your back tonight."

"I was not planning to come here. Like I said, I was injured." Castiel picked up the beer Ash had offered him, but instead of opening it, played with it, passing it back and forth between his hands nervously.

"Well, who were you taking the kid from?"

"I would rather not say. I've already involved you more than I should-"

"Was it the Romans?" Charlie asked, in a small but loud voice, from behind Sam and Jess.

Castiel turned a surprised face in her direction. "You know them?"

"I know the Romans," Charlie said, not realizing that she had folded her arms protectively over her stomach and had started to hunch, adopting the same stance as when she had padded into Sam and Dean's room early that morning.

"We're already acquainted with that particular pack of bastards," Bobby said, nearly spitting.

"I see." Castiel cast his gaze downwards. "I'm sorry." It was hard to tell if he were merely sympathetic, or genuinely apologetic. "And yes, I'm pretty sure it was them."

"How'd you find out where that kid was?" Sam asked; Jess had gone to collect Charlie and bring her close to them.

"Accidentally. I noticed him with an adult that obviously was not related to him, so I tracked him."

"And that's what you do?" Dean asked. "Go around rescuing kids?"

"I try to."

The kitchen door opened, catching everyone's attention, and Jody stepped back into the restaurant.

"We got hold of his mom," Jody informed the group. "Kid's still talking to her." She gestured with her head towards the kitchen. "Poor woman's been searching for him on the west coast. She can't get a flight this close to the holiday, so she'll be driving in; she thinks she'll get here on Thanksgiving."

"What are you doing with him until then?" Ellen asked, turning so she could fully face Jody.

"Well, we could bring him down to the station but there's only prison cots there, and I don't think that's exactly best for him. Is there any way-"

"We have room at the house," Ellen said, with a wave of her hand.

"How about for Mr. Shurley over here?" Jody gestured towards Castiel. "It's gonna be pretty late by the time we're done."

"He can stay with us too."

"I won't impose any more than I already have." Castiel put the beer down, as if to emphasize. "There must be a hotel in the city. If not, I can sleep outs-"

"Don't go getting any stupid ideas," Ellen said, reaching over and grabbing his shoulder to prevent him from moving. "Consider it my apology for nearly breaking your neck."

"Thank you, but that might not be a good idea."

"Were you being followed?"

"No. I don't think so."

"Then you're staying."

"But-"

"I'm the Alpha of this territory. You're in my territory, so that means you do as I say."

Jody braced herself. If Castiel fought Ellen on this, Jody was pretty sure she could break it up without involving any other Alphas, but it'd be messy. Luckily, Castiel gave no visible emotional reaction to Ellen's words, aside from the frustrated look in his eyes.

"Not like you can go anywhere with your foot like that, anyway," Dean said, to break the uncomfortable silence that followed. "What happened there?"

"Carelessness," Castiel grumbled. "Ran too fast, landed wrong." Castiel grimaced as his foot twitched, involuntarily, sending a jolt of pain up his calf. "I probably sprained it."

"The ambulance is coming for Kevin, we'll make sure you get looked at, too," Jody said. "In the meantime I've got some questions for you."

"I noticed him first in Lebanon. He was with someone he obviously wasn't related to, and seemed very distressed, so I grew suspicious and followed them at a distance."

"Sounds like this ain't your first search and rescue," Jody said with a small laugh, reaching for the notepad she kept, along with her walkie-talkie and badge, on her person at all times.

"It's not. Anyway, there are old farming communities around Lebanon that are no longer in use, and a lot of the buildings have been abandoned. From my vantage point I saw them put Kevin in one of the barns. I laid low for a few days, in case they were suspicious of being followed, before I sneaked inside to rescue him."

"And when was this?"

"Late last night or early this morning, when it was still dark."

"Were you able to get a scent on any of them?"

Castiel shook his head. "They used scent suppressors."

"How about a clear visual?"

"Unfortunately if I got too close, they'd be able to see or smell me, and I didn't want to risk it. I had only enough scent suppressor on me to cover our tracks once I freed him, so I didn't want to need to use it by getting too close."

That made Jody pause her note-taking and look up, bemused. "You do realize all forms of scent modifiers are illegal, right?"

"Don't police officers break the speed limit when they chase traffic offenders?"

"Touche. I can knock it down to a small fine if you give up the can."

"Kevin threw it out after we used it up."

"You know where?"

"Somewhere in Concordia."

"Great. All right, maybe I won't mention it." Jody scribbled something on her notepad out. "Now, you said that you weren't being followed?"

"I don't think so."

"Did you leave tracks?"

"Probably for part of the way, but we went into a few towns. You can't leave tracks on concrete."

"Do you think they know he's gone?"

"Perhaps. They left him alone in that barn for two days before I rescued him. They seemed to be punishing him for something." Charlie, Jess's arm slung about her shoulder, flinched, and Castiel, who saw it from the corner of his eye, frowned down at his hands. "I don't know if they were going to continue to isolate him, or if someone has since been sent to check on him."

"Any idea what they might have been punishing him for?"

"I haven't asked Kevin. I haven't asked him anything about his time with them yet."

Jody grimaced. She wasn't looking forward to having to ask, either. "Where were you planning on taking him?"

"Gardner. One of my brothers, Joshua, has a church there, Redemption Lutheran. He's licensed to shelter orphans and foundlings until they are adopted."

"You Shurleys are quite the philanthropists."

"Only some of us."

Castiel said the words as if sucking on lemons. Before anyone could comment on it, the air outside the Roadhouse filled with short bursts of police and ambulance sirens, and the red, blue, white, and yellow lights of both flashed in the windows.

"Sis, you gotta get some of those for here," Ash said. "Get 'em for Karaoke Night. It'll be awesome."

Ellen reached around behind Jo to smack her little brother on the back of his head.


End file.
